Confucius Says

One of the great gifts a conscious elder has to offer the young is the recognition that “we’ve been here before. And here’s what helped.” Insights that can only come from a long life of wholly lived experience.

 

Likewise, people of any age who read books from the days of yore can discover the same. How social forces twenty, two hundred, even two thousand years ago, had some similarities to today and how the courageous and wise people of the time dealt with it, can speak across the years to us. 

 

Take Confucius. He was born in 551 BCE in what is now the Shandong province of China. This father died when Confucius was but three-years-old and he grew up in a time when rival warlords were fighting to gain power. Highly educated, Confucius gathered a group of disciples who recognized his wisdom and was eventually given a small town to govern. His philosophical teachings emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relations, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue. These ideas felt threatening to those benefiting from their selfish and lavish lifestyle. At odds with the rulers,  he voluntarily exiled himself from his home province, not returning until he was 68 years old, and died at 72. 

 

As described in the Inspiring Quotes entry: 

 

“To Confucius, happiness came not through gluttony and self-indulgence, but through frugality and duty to others. He believed fulfilling the needs of others could also fill oneself with serenity and gratitude. Forgoing one’s duty to serve, on the other hand, could have wider damaging effects: A ruler who ignored the needs of their subjects might unbalance the cosmos and suffer a reign beset with natural disasters.”

 

As I suggested at the beginning, wisdom is timeless. Connect the dots with today. The entry continues:

 

“Confucius set out four simple virtues that he believed were enough to keep the world in its proper order: benevolence, moral wisdom, righteousness, and observance of traditional rituals. According to Confucianism, ritual brings together a community in peace and helps to cultivate humanity, goodness, and love. Confucius taught that once we understand our shared humanity, we open ourselves up to feelings of altruism, respect for one another, and even friendship.

In Confucius’ idea of the ideal state, the rulers were kind, religion was properly celebrated, and the wise were treasured. Despite living in difficult times and often in exile, Confucius spent his life seeking to help others achieve this.”

 

I believe Confucius would be quite at home in the No Kings Rallies. Some quotes from his writings that speak to us directly today:

 

“If you see what is right and fail to act on it, you lack courage.”

 

“The person of virtue is not left to stand alone. Those who practice it will have neighbors.”

 

“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”

 

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."

 

“Study the past if you would define the future.”

 

Let us hope these reminders from the past will help shaped the future.